I am extremely tired of reading Debate and Serous Talk threads about or hijacked by biased, unbalanced arguments between U.S. and British members over how important each other's country was to winning World war II. Typically, the U.S. proponents proclaim their nation to be the great savior of the world, which would be oppressed in the shackles of the Third Reich if not for their sacrifices and that none of the other nations played an important role except the U.S. Meanwhile, the British claim that the U.S. was nothing more than an opportunistic glory grabbing nation, and the British could easily have held out and won the war without them. These arguments irk me greatly, because it is quite simple to realize that each nation was equally important, and without either nation (or the Soviet Union), the Nazis would have won.
Without the Americans:
America was vital in winning World War II for one reason: it's industry. Early in the war (before they actually declared war), the strong economy and industrial production allowed it to supply much needed war material to the British and Soviet Union. The British shipments were needed, but not crucial as were the Soviet ones. During the initial onslaught of Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet Union needed every weapon it could get, since the industry was disrupted during it relocation. The U.S. provided critical supplies to the Soviet Union, and without these, the Germans would most likely have conquered them. If Germany had been able to eliminate the Soviet threat, and gain control the vast natural resources contained within the nation, then they would have been able to devote 100% of their military forces and industrial manufacturing to conquering Britain. Eventually, even if the Germans had worse pilots than the British and suffered greater causalities, they could afford a second Battle of Britain, and would eventually prevail. Once this happened, there would be nothing stopping them from invading, and with their superior production, eventually conquering the British. Once this occurred, the war would have been over, and the Axis would have prevailed.
Without the British:
The British were vital to maintaining a diversion of German forces. They were always enough an annoyance to prevent German High Command from allocating 100% of German military strength toward the Eastern Front. (Rudolf Hess, who landed in Scotland just preceding the invasion, is widely thought to have been pursuing a peace with the British before the commencement of Operation Barbarossa.) If Germany had been able to devote 100% of their military strength to eliminating the Soviet Union, any amount of U.S. aid would have failed to save them. Once the Soviet Union fell, the same as above would happen.
Without the Soviets:
Without the Soviet Union, Germany would have been able to devote 100% of their armed forces and industrial production to attacking Britain immediately. Without the need to produce ground forces readily apparent, more factories could be converted to producing enough aircraft to eliminate the RAF. Once this happened, Britain could have been invaded, and the same outcome as above would have occurred.
Each of the Allies was essential to their victorious war effort. Losing just one would have allowed Nazi Germany to emerge victorious. The U.S. was not the only reason the Allies won, but neither would the war have been won without out them. Realize that your country did play a very important role in the conflict, but no more than it's other two partners.
We are assuming an invasion of the U.S. would have been unfeasible for Germany, and that the Nazis would have been content with Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Please excuse typos. I don't have enough time to proof-read this.
Without the Americans:
America was vital in winning World War II for one reason: it's industry. Early in the war (before they actually declared war), the strong economy and industrial production allowed it to supply much needed war material to the British and Soviet Union. The British shipments were needed, but not crucial as were the Soviet ones. During the initial onslaught of Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet Union needed every weapon it could get, since the industry was disrupted during it relocation. The U.S. provided critical supplies to the Soviet Union, and without these, the Germans would most likely have conquered them. If Germany had been able to eliminate the Soviet threat, and gain control the vast natural resources contained within the nation, then they would have been able to devote 100% of their military forces and industrial manufacturing to conquering Britain. Eventually, even if the Germans had worse pilots than the British and suffered greater causalities, they could afford a second Battle of Britain, and would eventually prevail. Once this happened, there would be nothing stopping them from invading, and with their superior production, eventually conquering the British. Once this occurred, the war would have been over, and the Axis would have prevailed.
Without the British:
The British were vital to maintaining a diversion of German forces. They were always enough an annoyance to prevent German High Command from allocating 100% of German military strength toward the Eastern Front. (Rudolf Hess, who landed in Scotland just preceding the invasion, is widely thought to have been pursuing a peace with the British before the commencement of Operation Barbarossa.) If Germany had been able to devote 100% of their military strength to eliminating the Soviet Union, any amount of U.S. aid would have failed to save them. Once the Soviet Union fell, the same as above would happen.
Without the Soviets:
Without the Soviet Union, Germany would have been able to devote 100% of their armed forces and industrial production to attacking Britain immediately. Without the need to produce ground forces readily apparent, more factories could be converted to producing enough aircraft to eliminate the RAF. Once this happened, Britain could have been invaded, and the same outcome as above would have occurred.
Each of the Allies was essential to their victorious war effort. Losing just one would have allowed Nazi Germany to emerge victorious. The U.S. was not the only reason the Allies won, but neither would the war have been won without out them. Realize that your country did play a very important role in the conflict, but no more than it's other two partners.
We are assuming an invasion of the U.S. would have been unfeasible for Germany, and that the Nazis would have been content with Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Please excuse typos. I don't have enough time to proof-read this.
